India's Modi invited to meet with Trump next week
US President Donald Trump has extended an invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a meeting at the White House next week, according to a statement from a senior administration official.
The announcement follows the recent departure of a US military aircraft transporting deportees back to India.
During a phone conversation on January 27, Trump and Modi addressed critical issues such as immigration policies and trade dynamics. The US President emphasized the need for India to expand its procurement of American-manufactured defense equipment and reiterated the importance of fostering equitable trade relations between the two nations.
As a key strategic ally in the US’s Indo-Pacific strategy to balance China’s influence, India has prioritized strengthening economic ties with Washington. New Delhi seeks increased access to skilled worker visas for its citizens and aims to avert potential tariffs threatened by the Trump administration. The latter has previously criticized India’s elevated import duties on US goods, signaling tensions over trade imbalances.
The United States is India's largest trading partner and two-way trade between the two countries surpassed 118 billion US dollar in 2023/24, with India posting a trade surplus of $32 billion.
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